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Done deal: Students headed to high-priced Drew get cheaper path through County College of Morris

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Tina Gonnella of Harding, left, and Mitzi Rose Cruz of South Brunswick celebrate graduating from the County College of Morris in Randolph in 2011. The school has signed an agreement to allow certain graduates a guaranteed path to Drew University, with their credits intact.
(TIM FARRELL/THE STAR-LEDGER )

RANDOLPH — The County College of Morris and Drew University on Wednesday made official their new deal for easier transfers from the former to the latter — a potentially huge cost savings for students planning to graduate from the most expensive school in New Jersey.

The arrangement, CCM President Edward Yaw said this week, is part of an ongoing effort to create more bridges from his two-year school to four-year colleges and universities. That also involves recently announced partnerships with Berkeley College and Rutgers University, and another in the works with the University of Phoenix, though the particulars of each arrangement vary.

"Several schools have come to us on their own, and in the case of Drew, this seems to be a natural fit," Yaw said.

Yaw and Drew President Vivian A. Bull were scheduled to sign their admissions agreement at noon Wednesday.

It allows a student — if he or she meets certain requirements — to earn an associate's degree at CCM then transfer all of his or her credits to Drew.

To qualify, a student would have to keep a GPA of 3.0 or higher, submit a "dual admission intent" form to Drew before earning 45 credits at CCM, and enroll at Drew within one year of graduating with an associate's degree from CCM.

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Participating students can pursue majors in biology, chemistry, English, history, psychology or art history. Certain majors also qualify in the humanities and social sciences.

According to Drew's estimated summary of costs for 2013-2014, the school charges nearly $43,000 per year in tuition. That's not including about another $7,700 for room, $4,300 for boarding or several fees that amount to about another $2,000.

Many students get some form of financial aid, low-interest loans or are given part-time work opportunities, according to the school. It said an average institutional award for a student entering in fall 2012 was about $25,000, not including any federal or state grants, or loans.

CCM charges in-county students $117 per credit — which amounts to $3,510 for two 15-credit semesters. Out-of-county students pay another $116 per credit, and out-of-state students pay another $99 on top of that.

There are also a handful of other fees charges to CCM students, though the total is still only a fraction of the cost of attending Drew.

“This is an innovative partnership that will provide a new way for students to obtain a four-year degree,” Drew University President Vivian A. Bull said in an announcement from her school. “We are excited to have an admissions agreement with our closest neighboring county college. Many CCM students already transfer to Drew. This will make that transition even easier.”

Yaw said while he can't quantify it, there seem to be more students seeking out his school as a gateway to a four-year college experience.

A statewide agreement already covered transfers to other public colleges and universities, Yaw said, but CCM has recently built up its portfolio of agreements with private schools.

"We've always had good relationships and success with transferring students to colleges in the independent sector, but we're finding it useful to formalize some of those agreements,"

The Berkeley agreement allows students who graduate with an associate's degree in business administration or criminal justice to enter Berkeley as juniors with their general-education core requirements fulfilled. Students can seek Berkeley degrees in several programs.

The recent Rutgers agreement allows students in certain programs to take Rutgers classes on CCM's Randolph campus. Rutghers tuition rates apply for those classes.

Last year, Drew and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg signed a similar pact to the one formalized Wednesday. Under that deal, Raritan Valley students who graduate with a GPA of at least 3.0, and receive an associate’s degree in an approved program, are guaranteed admission to the private university in Madison.